Franklin Parish Library

SR 2026 - Movie & Popcorn: The Good Dinosaur
2026-07-24 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
Bring your favorite movie snacks and join us in the Learning Center on July 24 at 2pm for popcorn & The Good Dinosaur!
Parents, this movie is rated PG for “peril, action, and thematic elements.”
No drop offs. Parent/guardians must accompany all minors.

Virtual Author Talk The Power of Connection: Creating Lasting Friendships in an Increasingly Lonely World with Dr. Marisa Franco
2026-07-28 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us in virtual conversation with bestselling author Dr. Marisa Franco, one of the world’s leading experts in human connection. Her book, Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make–And Keep–Friends, explores the science of different attachment styles and how they impact our relationships–often in ways we don’t realize!
How do we make and keep friends in an era of distraction, burnout, and chaos, especially in a society that often prizes romantic love at the expense of other relationships? In Platonic, Dr. Marisa G. Franco unpacks the latest, often counterintuitive findings about the bonds between us—for example, why your friends aren’t texting you back (it’s not because they hate you!), and the myth of “friendships happening organically” (making friends, like cultivating any relationship, requires effort!). As Dr. Franco explains, to make and keep friends you must understand your attachment style—secure, anxious, or avoidant: it is the key to unlocking what’s working (and what’s failing) in your friendships.
Making new friends, and deepening longstanding relationships, is possible at any age—in fact, it’s essential. The good news: there are specific, research-based ways to improve the number and quality of your connections using the insights of attachment theory and the latest scientific research on friendship. Platonic provides a clear and actionable blueprint for forging strong, lasting connections with others—and for becoming our happiest, most fulfilled selves in the process.
Register today to learn more about how to harness the science of human connection to create cultures of belonging.
About the Author:
An enlightening psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and TED speaker, Dr. Marisa G. Franco is known for digesting and communicating science in ways that resonate deeply enough with people to change their lives.
Dr. Franco works as a professor at The University of Maryland and authored Platonic: How The Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep – Friends. She writes about friendship for Psychology Today and has been a featured connection expert for major publications like The New York Times, The Telegraph, and Vice.
Dr. Franco speaks on belonging at corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and universities across the country, including Harper Collins Publishers, Cisco, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The Department of State.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

Novel Quilting Club (Adults)
2026-08-03 09:00 - 16:00
First Monday of each month
Experience a full day of creativity, relaxation, and connection with fellow quilters right here at home.
Bring your equipment & any projects you’re currently working on & join in.
All skill levels welcome.
Call Kayla at 318-435-4336 with Questions.

FRANKLIN PARISH LIBRARY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY EQUIPMENT OR ITEMS THAT YOU BRING.

Virtual Author Talk: The Legacy of Julia Child's Kitchen with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson
2026-08-04 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us for a conversation that’s sure to warm your heart (and make your stomach rumble), as we delve into the legacy of cooking icon Julia Child with Smithsonian curator and public historian Paula J. Johnson, author of Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools, Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space. The book includes interviews with chefs who knew Julia well, commentary on her favorite culinary tools and kitchen gadgets, and a stunning array of photos.
Julia Child’s 20’ x 14’ kitchen was a serious workspace and recipe‑testing lab that exuded a sense of mid‑century homey comfort. It has been on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., for most of the past twenty-three years, and museum goers have made it a top destination.
The kitchen contains more than one thousand parts and pieces—tools, appliances, utensils, furniture, artwork, knick‑knacks, books, and bits of whimsy—all reflecting Julia’s status as an accomplished chef, gastronome, delightful cooking teacher, television trailblazer, women’s advocate, mentor, and generous, jovial friend.
Julia Child’s Kitchen (and this online conversation) is a must‑have for every serious home cook and Julia Child fan. Register now to enter the discussion and learn more about how Julia Child continues to influence food today!
About the Author:
Paula J. Johnson is a curator and public historian at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. She conducts research and collects objects relating to the history and culture of American food and serves as the Director of the Smithsonian’s Food History Project. Johnson was one of the curators who collected Julia Child’s home kitchen in 2001 and led the team that created FOOD: Transforming the American Table, a multi-layered exhibition that explores the major changes in food production, distribution, and consumption in the United States since the 1950s. She has shaped and contributed to many public programs on food history and leads the annual “Food History Weekend.” Johnson is the author of many articles and three books, including Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space (2024). She received the Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities Award in 2020.
Johnson began her museum career at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland, and has worked at the Smithsonian since 1991. She is a member of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and Les Dames d’ Escoffier. She serves on the editorial collective for Gastronomica: The Journal for Food Studies.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

Virtual Author Talk When Trees Testify: Reclaiming America’s Black Botanical Legacy with Beronda Montgomery
2026-08-25 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us for a riveting conversation with award-winning biologist Beronda Montgomery as we discuss her book, When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy.
The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely.
In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees, as well as the cotton shrub, are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.
Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.
Register today for this insightful discussion about Black history and botanical mastery.

About the Author:
Beronda L. Montgomery, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and scholar who pursues a common theme of understanding how individuals perceive, respond to, and are impacted by the environments in which they exist. Her primary laboratory-based research has been focused on the responses of photosynthetic organisms (i.e., plants and cyanobacteria) to external light cues. Additionally, Beronda pursues this theme in the context of effective mentoring and leadership of individuals, and the role of innovative leaders in supporting success.
Beronda is author of two books When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy (2026, Henry Holt and Co.) and Lessons From Plants (2021, Harvard University Press).

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.

Virtual Author Talk High Altitudes and High Stakes: A Miss Marple Mystery with Lucy Foley
2026-08-27 13:00 - 14:00 | Online Event
Join us for a thrilling conversation with acclaimed author Lucy Foley as we delve into her brand-new Miss Marple mystery, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel.
High in the Swiss Alps, accessible only by a single, winding railway, stands the luxurious Grand Alpine Hotel. With glorious mountain views and exclusive access to powdery slopes, it draws guests from far and wide.
The notorious actress.
The high-flying politician.
The society wife.
The reckless friend.
The shrewd doctor.
But not everyone is here for a winter holiday. Beneath the champagne and furs, dark histories simmer; old grudges emerge like cracks in the ice. And someone is watching from the shadows. A polite, unassuming woman with an extraordinary mind: Miss Marple. When a body is found and a blizzard cuts off all escape, only Miss Marple can connect the clues before the killer strikes again. Because it isn’t a question of who has a motive, but who’s next…

About the Author:
Lucy Foley is a No.1 Sunday Times, Irish Times and New York Times bestselling author. More than 10 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, and several are currently being adapted for the screen. She is a Waterstones Thriller of the Month author, a three-time nominee at the British Book Awards, and The Guest List was a Reese’s Book Club selection and winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery Thriller. As a life-long Agatha Christie fan, Lucy has drawn immeasurable inspiration from the Queen of Crime. She was one of 12 writers to contribute to Marple, a collection of short stories featuring the beloved detective. And in Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, she was inspired to transport Miss Marple – her favorite Christie creation – to the glamorous post-war setting of the Swiss Alps, in a mystery that feels gloriously escapist yet utterly relevant to our times.

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Franklin Parish Library.
